Fedellos do Couto  
Visiting this leading producer from Ribeira Sacra, Galicia, Spain

One of the Ribeira Sacra vineyards of Fedellos do Couto

Fedellos do Couto is an interesting wine project. It's based in a large, rambling old house in Ribera Sacra that's owned by Luis Taboada, one of the partners in the project. His family have lived here for several generations, and parts of the house date back to the 12th Century.

'Fedellos' translates roughly as 'brats', and the brats of Couto are, in addition to Luis, an agronomist and two winemakers. Pablo Soldavini is the agronomist, with expertise in organics, and the winemakers are Curro Barreño and Jesús Olivares. They began working together back in 2011.

Curro, Luis and Jesus 

They have just under 6 hectares of vines in the spectacular Ribeira Sacra, in the Sil and Bibei subregions. Winemaking is pretty natural, and allows the complex terroir here to show through. These are really lovely, expressive wines.

We began with some barrel sampling of the latest vintage.

Conas Brancas 2017 (a blend, but not complete, because there's a separate Godello fermentation that will join this)
60% has 40 days maceration on skins, whole bunch, while the remainder is direct pressed and fermented in barriques. Complex and bright with apples and pears, as well as good acidity. Juicy and intense with nice texture. 91-93/100

Godello 2017
Fermented separately because this was second bud after a frost event, skin fermented. This is complex and spicy with some grip. Lovely density: very fine and linear. Will be blended into Conas Brancas. 92-94/100

Cortezada 2017 (sample from concrete tank)
Tight and focused with a slightly reductive nose. Structured and dense with nice grip and some finesse. Pure and linear, showing good acidity. 92-94/100

Cortezada 2017 (500 litre barrel)
Fresh and vivid with nice cherry and raspberry fruit with a bit of crunch. This is quite open with some flesh, and a hint of reduction. 92-94/100

Then some wines that will go into Lombo des Ares, which comes from different plots in Bibei

Soutipedre 2017
Mencia and Muraton. Vivid, fresh and intense with nice grip and lots of volume. Fresh and pure.

Soutipedre 2017
Gran Nero and Garnacha Tintorea. Vivid and fresh with sour cherry, spice and some grip. High acidity with firm tannins.

Seoane 2017
Granitic soils. Fresh and focused, bright and linear, quite pure. Has a directness to the fruit.

San Vicenzo and Raigada
These are two very good plots at the end of the valley, at 800 m: this will be a single-vineyard wine in the future. Powerful, vivid and structured with raspberry and cherry fruit. Structured and fresh with lots of intensity and concentration.

Then it was time for bottled wines.

Fedellos do Couto Conas Brancas 2016 Ribeira Sacra, Spain
Fresh and concentrated with slight tart grapefruit and lemon fruit, as well as subtle hints of nuts and pear. Quite pithy and taut with a nice fennel edge. 92/100

Fedellos do Couto Cortezada 2016 Ribeira Sacra, Spain
This is really supple and expressive with nice bright cherry and raspberry fruit. So juicy and supple and linear with lovely red fruits. Pure, linear and elegant. 94/100

Fedellos do Couto Lamba dos Ares 2016 Ribeira Sacra, Spain
This is a blend of plots along the Bibei River, and it's just one third Mencia together with other varieties. Concentrated and fresh with crunchiness and subtle reduction. Nice grippy structure here with good acidity. Linear and complex with some depth but also lovely richness. 94/100

Fedellos do Couto Bastarda 2016 Ribeira Sacra, Spain
90% younger vines (20 years old), the rest from other plots. 100% Bastardo, which is the same as Trousseau. Expressive sappy red fruits nose is floral and leafy with red cherries. Lively, supple palate is light, detailed and expressive. Juicy and a bit spicy with some tannin and good acidity. A distinctive wine. 94/100

Fedellos do Couto Caino Tinto 2013 Ribeira Sacra, Spain
Just 300 bottles of this were made. Fresh, linear and juicy with bright red cherry fruit, showing delicacy and purity. This shows real beauty, with keen acidity. 94/100

Peixe Lacazan 2016
These Peixes wines are made higher up in the Bibei where the soils are made of a metamorphic type of granite called mica. This is 70% Sousón. Complex and intense with some spice and structure. Powerful and tannic this combines richness and freshness and has a real wildness to it. Lots of substance here. 93/100

Piexe da Estrela 2016
Perfumed and expressive with a floral black cherry nose and some blackcurrant. Great concentration and freshness on the palate with good structure and focus. This has incredible focus and acidity. Very fine and expressive. Linear. 94/100

Peixe da Rocha 2016
Floral with lovely red cherry and plum notes. Supple and silky with a fine, expressive palate that shows elegance. Lovely purity with some flesh: expressive and delicious, with a lovely personality. 94/100